Hat-trick and tears for Messi: "I've had some difficult days due to off-field issues."

Messi's last World Cup began with a hat-trick against Algeria: a dream debut for the Argentine phenomenon, who dreams of lifting the trophy again, like in Qatar. The cameras caught him getting emotional on the pitch, and he himself revealed the reason for his tears after the match: "The truth is, it's for something completely unrelated to sport. I've had some difficult, complicated days," he said.

"I'm grateful to the entire delegation, to my teammates. They were always, as always, by my side. They gave me a lot of strength to stay healthy and nothing else," announced La Pulga when he received the man of the match award.

Regarding the match, he analyzed: "We knew it would be a tough match. They have very good, very dynamic players who bring intensity. If we gave up the ball, they could hit us, but we remained compact when we didn't have the ball. We were fortunate to be ahead and control the game, perhaps not as we always have through possession."

Regarding his impressive performance, Messi downplayed his record as the top scorer in a World Cup and clarified his motivation for continuing to give it his all on the pitch: "I love playing football. It's been my passion since I was little. When I'm doing well, I give my all. Now we're watching Rafa Nadal's series, and I identify with him a lot. We're very similar in the sense that I want to give my all and feel good. I enjoy it that way. As long as I can and it's good, we'll be there."